Franciscan Plaza

Franciscan Plaza. City of San Juan Capistrano Historic Depiction Program. The Franciscan Plaza, built in 1990, occupies a site with a long and colorful history. Beginning in the early 1800's, adobe brick homes housing notable community founders were built on these site, facing a public plaza that extended south from Mission San Juan Capistrano. Portions of the original adobes remain to the south of this plaque. The Avila Adobe was restored to its 1880's appearance, and the adjacent Vanenzula Adobe was reconstructed with the development of the Franciscan Plaza. Many other noteworthy structures have occupied this site over the last 200 years, including the Pryor Adobe, a blacksmith shop, a grocery store, a Blue Goose citrus packing house, and a popular "rebote" (handball) court. The site was also the scene of several technological "firsts" in San Juan Capistrano, including the town's first telephone switchboard and the first electrical generator., The Woodmen's Hall (pictures), originally built east of the Mission as a church, was moved to this site in the early 1900's and relocated to the rear of the site in 1919. It served the town's social needs as a community recreation, dance and meeting hall, and the first movie house. Although the Woodmen's Hall no longer stands on the site, its history and the presence of nearby rehabilitated adobe building serve as continued reminders of how the community's varied heritage has evolved over time.